A Thought About Mindfulness

My thoughts are never far from mindfulness. It is a practice I cultivate daily – I have to. When I fail to check back in with myself on a regular basis, I become less grounded and more easily flustered. Life doesn’t flow, it jars, and whilst I’ll never be ‘perfect’ at it, I have gotten better at going with the flow over the years.

Blogging is a great tool I have found, for focusing your attention on living in the moment. As I move through my life I’m always pausing to enjoy the moment that I’m in, even though I’m juggling a lot of things. Capturing the detail in each event forces me to be still and absorb, as I want to be able to communicate it all effectively later when I’m back at my desk.

I enjoy a busy life but I’m not overwhelmed by it. It is a nice busy – a busy I can handle and I like having lots of people in my life. I also like lots of time alone. I’m happy in my own company. It’s nice not to have to talk sometimes. To go for a run or swim lengths alone and immerse myself in my own thoughts. I like an early night alone too – to curl up with a book and recent months have seen me reclaim this particular pleasure. The joy of the written word and soaking up a captivating storyline. Enjoying the plot twists and turns, I feel invested in the characters, but when it is all too much and my eyes are heavy, I can sink down into my bed and enjoy a restorative sleep.

I like to take time out to live. To smell the coffee as I put it into my mug, then wait for the kettle to boil and slowly stir my milk in and with both hands wrapped around the mug, gently blow the surface until it’s cool enough to sip. Emails can wait while I get prepared for the day. It won’t make any difference to the reply they get if it comes 10 minutes later and I’m in a better frame of mind to deal with it.

Food is a pleasure to be enjoyed. I have battled with food for 30 years of my life and it does no good. Deprivation doesn’t get me the results I want. Moderation and exercise do, being mindful has really helped me with the weight issue, and I adore my yoga classes. They are great for my body and my mind.

Mindfulness at home is the best mindfulness of all. I make sure I tell my kids that I love them every single day – and have done since the day they were born. I make time to appreciate my husband. It is so easy to start to take someone for granted, but once you go down that road it’s harder to get back up it again to a place of appreciation. So I make an effort to look at him with fresh eyes each day and also to say “Thank you”. I notice that it has an immediate benefit in the way he treats me too, so it’s worth making the effort.

When I started blogging it was a mixture of therapy, to have a creative outlet, to record the events of my children’s lives and to make friends, all of which I’m happy to say I’ve done. Now this blog is my career, and I’m mindful of how grateful I am to have it. I love to connect with my readers and hear their thoughts and comments and hope to continue to do so into the future. This is my little corner of the internet and I welcome you to it. Do you have an approach to mindfulness?

I used to meditate when I was recovering from my mastectomy and going through my treatment. It is one of my goals for this year to me more intentional and mindfulness helps me do that, I am going to start meditating or having a period of calmness each morning.

I honestly don’t think about consciously being mindful, I don’t really get these sort of catchphrases, but I love my life and live it at the pace I enjoy. However I’ve no issue with others living mindfully! DO’t get me wrong!!